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Dr. Douglas B. Kirby was an extraordinary man. His lifetime contributions to adolescent sexual and reproductive health transformed the field, both in research and in practice. In February 2016, ETR hosted the inaugural Kirby Summit in honor of Dr. Kirby. We continued our exciting conversation at our second convening in May, 2017.

#LetsTalkMonth: Join In for Impact

October is #LetsTalkMonth. This campaign is dedicated to frank conversations between young people and the adults they trust about sexual health. Thousands of parents, educators, administrators, social workers and students across the nation are joining in.

In Part 1 of this series, I explained that this year, in response to attacks from outside organizations seeking to dismantle effective programs, we’re stepping up the platform. We’re inviting our allies to show support for comprehensive sex ed in schools. I hope you’ll join in. We’ve made it amazingly easy.

We have a specific theme this year—hope. Our key message is simple: When it comes to sexual health, our hope is for our kids to grow up happy, healthy, and thriving. Our social media communications will be designated by the dual hashtags #LetsTalkMonth and #MyHope.

What You Can Do

Please watch for these hashtags on social media and share around the excellent resources we’re promoting. We’ve created 31 distinct posts—one for each day in October. These borrow some of the best information from dozens of incredible organizations, including ETR, Advocates for Youth, ACLU and more.

You care about the well being of children and youth. You support comprehensive sex ed. Now, take this next step by joining us in sharing one, some, or all of the messages we post. Create variations of them if you wish on your organizations’ pages, or within your own networks. Post your own messages of support.

Remember, parents are ready to be partners in this effort. Let’s work together to have a genuine impact. You can follow Palo Alto Parents for Sex Ed on Facebook (@PAParents4SE). If you’d like to use the assets we’ve collected for #LetsTalkMonth (our “campaign-in-a-box”), feel free to email me for further information.

Jamie Barnett, MBA, CISSP, is Parent Volunteer, Palo Alto Parents 4 Sex Ed. She is a marketing specialist with extensive experience in startups and technology enterprises, and she is a passionate and engaged volunteer in her community. She can be reached at jamie.barnett@gmail.com.